Textile Printing: Dye sublimation adds options for today’s customer

by | 9 December 2020 3:32 pm

By Ginny Mumm

Sometimes, if one looks in the right places, they can see an opportunity coming. The same applies for Victor Linetsky, a businessperson who, in the late ’90s, noticed the sign industry was starting to transition from hand painting and screenprinting to digital print production. Seeing this shift, he purchased a 1067-mm (42-in.) digital printer and founded PosterTech Group in Edmonton in 1999.

“We just wanted to see if there was a chance to get our foot in the door,” says Linetsky.

As it turned out, there was an opportunity for companies offering digital printing services, and Linetsky’s client base soon increased tenfold. To further accelerate his shop’s growth and, over the years as opportunities presented themselves, he acquired the operations of two other companies: Arttec Advertising, which handles large-format screen and digital printing and signage, and Display Design Systems, which produces exhibit and trade-show displays.

“I believe a strong, diversified product offering backed by the latest technology is the key to managing the ups and downs of
this industry,” says Linetsky.

He says even before the challenges of COVID-19 presented themselves, the economic conditions in his region could change quickly.

“A lot of our success in western Canada depends on oil, he says. “If there are issues with oil pricing, that affects every corner of the province. The more you can cater to different industries offering various solutions, the better your chances of succeeding in a changing economic environment.” 

Managing growth

Today, Linetsky is the president of PosterTech Group, which employs a staff of 18 across the design, production, and installation departments. With a large client base, including local, regional, and national companies, the company also vets and employs contractors to assist with installations across Canada.

For some time, Linetsky managed three separate production facilities. After discovering how much time it took just to travel between them, he purchased a single building that offered his company additional room to grow.

The newly renovated 2787-m² (30,000-sf) space is located in the west end of Edmonton, close to freeways for easy deliveries and employee commutes. The facility houses a production area, administrative offices, a showroom, and an 18-m (60-ft) vehicle bay for year-round wrap installation.

Although the shop specializes in large- and grand-format printing, it has migrated into signage, soft signage, and trade-show displays. The company also produces window, wall, and floor graphics; billboards; decals; banners; vehicle graphics; and construction, architectural and safety signage; among several other applications.

PosterTech Group is also committed to maintaining clients across a range of industries, as well as working with companies of all sizes.

“People call us a boutique operation and, as such, we can run thousands of signs, but we don’t shy away from a one-off job. Having small, medium, and large clients makes our business stronger,” he says.

“Our facility is turnkey, and we bill ourselves as a one-stop shop,” he adds. “We can provide everything from design to production and installation services.” 

To fulfil this promise of providing a range of services, Linetsky has equipped his production facility with more than 20 printers, using different technologies: aqueous, solvent, eco-solvent, ultraviolet- (UV-) curable, latex, and dye sublimation—in roll-to-roll and flatbed platforms, along with a full suite of finishing and signmaking equipment.

He also believes in maintaining duplicate technology for each method.

“We have backup equipment for each type of production,” he says. “This contingency is critical to working with some of our larger clients and landing bigger jobs.”

Further, Linetsky invests in a new piece of equipment every 12 to 18 months.

“This allows us to stay current and take advantage of new, emerging technologies,” he says. “We want to be a company that offers innovative printing solutions.”

Diversifying production with dye sublimation

As part of their commitment to stay on top of current trends, PosterTech Group has invested in dye-sublimation equipment, including specialized dye-sublimation transfer printers.

“As our customers’ needs diversified and soft signage became more prominent, we felt it was time for us to step forward,” says Linetsky. “Dye-sublimation printing has turned out to be an excellent investment for us.”

In fact, the dye-sublimation market is one of the fastest growing product areas for print producers. According to research by ReportLinker, a technology company headquartered in France that offers reports and slideshows with insights from research analysts, the global dye-sublimation market was valued at US$8.1 million in 2019, and it is expected to reach a total value of US$14.2 million by 2025, registering a compound annual growth rate of 10.7 per cent during 2020 to 2025.

PosterTech Group’s trade-show arm has benefited greatly from the capabilities of dye-sublimated production.

“Fabric graphics are light, stretchy, and easy to transport,” says Linetsky. “In addition, these days, many European countries allow only fabric trade-show displays.” 

Linetsky notes many of his larger clients prefer using dye-sublimated fabrics for backlit displays and banner frames, as well as for full trade-show exhibits. Additionally, many of the company’s smaller customer-base also benefit from dye-sublimation production.

“While a customer’s budget may not allow for a $10,000 display, chances are the client can afford smaller footprint, fabric retractable displays, or fabric panels, which are portable and can be used to make impactful presentations,” he says.

Many of his clients are now requesting the popular silicone edge graphics (SEG) or push-fit displays. The dye-sublimation tension fabric has a sewn-on silicon edge that easily glides into a channel on the display framework. Many types of SEG fabric frames are available that allow for high-impact single-sided or double-sided viewing, including floor-standing, wall-mounted, or hanging displays.

 

In addition to trade-show and presentation graphics, the shop supplies land developers, construction companies, and builders with dye-sublimated graphics for flags in different configurations and shapes, such as wind or rotating flags and banners. Other clients are also finding ways to use this versatile production platform.

PosterTech Group is currently working on a project with the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton for backlit fabric displays and SEG fabric frame systems.

Supporting the community during the pandemic

Early on, PosterTech Group recognized the need to rapidly pivot its production in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and began manufacturing face shields, safety signage, and sneeze guards. 

Linetsky partnered with a local hair salon to prototype some of the COVID-19 safety designs.

“We approached them and said we’d like to experiment with designing a safety system for them—at no cost,” he says.

The shop’s technicians designed, produced, and installed a protection system and invited other hair salon owners to see it. Later, they produced a sample custom safety system for demonstrations in their showroom.

“As sneeze guards will be needed for the foreseeable future, they must be solid and robust, without taking away from the overall décor. However, they must also be easy to remove when this is over,” says Linetsky.

The shop has installed its custom sneeze guard systems in casinos, barber shops, hospitals, schools, universities, labs, and other businesses.

Giving back to the community has always been important to Linetsky. Over the years, PosterTech Group has been a consistent supporter of Edmonton’s art community. In addition to serving as the exclusive supplier for a local arts festival, the company supports the Citadel Theatre and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Last year, the Telus World of Science requested PosterTech Group to “adopt a dinosaur,” and the shop assisted with producing graphics and signage for the educational exhibit.

The future of dye sublimation

According to Linetsky, dye sublimation helps diversify his product line and profits his bottom line. Therefore, he sees it as a vital component of his production going forward.

“Those of us in the industry know the same graphic display can look very different depending on the production method and substrate,” he says. “Many of our clients are choosing dye sublimation as it offers vibrant, luxurious prints, and the versatility of lightweight fabrics makes it even more appealing.

“The role of this production method in our business is actually increasing, and overall that part of the industry is slated for continuous growth,” he adds. “With stretch, backlit, and block-out fabrics, the range of dye-sublimated applications is also on the rise.”

Linetsky expects the next hurdle for dye-sublimation printer manufacturers to be the size of the prints they can produce.  

“We’ve always tried to present choices to our customers,” he says. “If you only have one thing to offer, it’s easy to say ‘no.’ When four different options are available, the client may say, ‘I don’t like A, but I like B, or C, or D. The more possibilities you can suggest, the better your chances of securing the business.”  

Ginny Mumm is a freelance consultant for digital inkjet printer/cutter provider Roland DGA. For more information, visit www.rolanddga.com[8].

Source URL: https://www.signmedia.ca/textile-printing-dye-sublimation-adds-options-for-todays-customer/

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